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As Ghana marks Mothers’ Day on Sunday, many citizens have expressed their appreciation to women offering essential services, especially in the health facilities at the core of the COVID-19 fight.

On both traditional and online media, citizens lauded them for their selflessness and dedication to duty in view of the risk they faced to being exposed to the novel Coronavirus and also exposing their families should they become infected.

Mr Kwesi Quainoo, a father of four, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that he appreciated women a lot for their diverse services to family, community and nation, therefore, he cherished the celebration of Mothers’ Day.

However, he said, this year’s celebration must focus more on women in frontline healthcare because of the dual burden they were shouldering both at home and in their workplaces to help Ghana to beat the disease.

“As you know, we have more females in our healthcare sector and they face a lot of pressure both physically and psychologically in these times and we have to encourage, commend and pray for them,” he said.

Some of the frontline workers shared their experiences when the GNA visited their facilities and interacted with them.

Mrs Gloria Obeng-Benefo, the Public Relations Officer of the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), in wishing frontline health workers, especially staff of the premier Institute, a blissful day, encouraged them to keep doing their best to save lives and effectively manage their homes.

The COVID-19 pandemic, she said, had disrupted the lives of all, but it was more challenging to health workers.

“So on this special day, I say Ayekoo, because you have dedicated your lives to save the lives of all Ghanaians, God bless you,” she said.

Dr Elizabeth Bankah, a Family Physician and Head of the Adolescent Care Clinic, Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge), recounted her challenges, saying combining work and her domestic chores had become a cumbersome task.

“Most importantly, the children are home and we need to be more cautious about how we enter our homes on our return from work in order not to infect the family,” she explained.
“Mothers are going through a lot in the face of this pandemic. However, it has also provided an opportunity to bond with our children, teach them and interact more with them at home.”

Dr Bankah, nonetheless, pointed out that a lot of safety measures had been put in place at the Hospital to ensure effective social distancing and contain the spread of the disease.

She congratulated all mothers for the good job they continued to do and urged them to see the situation in a positive light, keep the family together and do the best they could to safeguard the health of the family.

Mrs Bertha Akpabeh, a Matron at the Accident and Emergency Unit, Ridge Hospital, said it had not been easy enduring the long hours of works and coping with the threats.

“We used to run an eight-hour shift but now we’re doing 12 hours to reduce our contact hours,” she explained. “This makes it difficult for mothers, especially with the threats and stress from both ends”.

“Indeed, in these times, mothers need additional help to cater for their children and we are grateful to our supportive husbands who have been there for us,” Mrs Akpabeh said.

Mrs Angelina Appiah Kubi, a Senior Administrative Assistant at NMIMR said as an essential worker it was not possible for her to spend time with her children at home.

“Sometimes, you may not even be able to check on the kids, as you should, when you return home because of social distancing,” she said. “I manage the situation by assigning them roles, such as Minister of Information etc, to make them adhere to the precautionary protocols.

She expressed appreciation to the Institute for providing the needed Personal Protective Equipment to keep them safe.

The mother of four wished all frontline health workers a Happy Mothers’ Day and encouraged them be tougher in undertaking their challenging tasks the pandemic had brought.

Mrs Yvonne Ashong, a Principal Technologist, Parasitology Department of Noguchi, told mothers that the best they could do these days was to have their kids adhere strictly to the safety measures to win the fight against the disease.

She advised the public to celebrate the Mothers’ Day without visiting public places saying, “Let us take the time to bond with our immediate family and allow them to celebrate us to enjoy the Day.”

Mothers’ Day is a celebration in Ghana and other parts of the world annually, on the second Sunday in May to appreciate women for their mothering roles which sustain humanity.